~ My eclectic musings on reality…

Tag Archives: sick

Well yuck. What’s that they say about colds…treat one and it goes away in a week – don’t treat it and it takes 7 days? If that’s true we’re on day 3 here and it sucks. I feel like a deflated balloon full of phlegm.

My friend T says it’s the stress of the past week that caught up with me. I guess she’s right! I’ve been staying strong, sticking with my workouts, finding some private time to cry a little and focusing on my work. I haven’t been sick ALL YEAR and feel pretty damn good about that! Normally 2 or 3 colds a year is typical. I started to feel a little tingly and sneezy late Friday afternoon at work. But I went to the gym as usual and did my weight training. I was feeling a little weak but not super weak…I knew Aunt Flo was right around the corner so I chalked it up to that.

On Saturday I woke up feeling like my sinuses and throat were full of sandpaper. Oh no, here we go…it’s a cold alright. This weekend was one of those where my team works overnight and I was slated for the 1:30am – 10:00am shift on Sunday. Yes, that’s AM on Sunday. Thankfully I was able to get someone to back me up.

And I called my friend P sad and in tears…last night was her Bon Voyage party, as she gets ready for a trip of a lifetime…Belize, Australia and New Zealand!! It’s a dream come true for her and I’m so excited!! And so sad I couldn’t come to her party and see her. But no way was I going to risk spreading cold germs around.

So it’s Quarantine time for fivenineteen. Sometimes we need alone time to recharge the batteries, but too much of it makes me feel so isolated and lonely. Thankfully I had enough stuff this past week to keep me connected and happy.

My youngest brother is up here on business quite a bit, and we met up at my house after our gym workouts one night to start putting my bedroom back together. It was just over a month ago that J helped take my bed apart and get things temporarily set up in my 3rd bedroom so R could finish the popcorn ceiling scraping and finishing in my bedroom, master vanity and the walk-in closet. Our plan once that was finished was to paint, shampoo the carpets and then put the room back together. Love it!

How much things changed in a month. How wrong I was about where our relationship stood. Now I have no idea when I’ll hear from J again. I texted him last week to let him know I was doing alright. We talked about getting together on Veterans Day to work on some more stuff here and he texted back sure, how about that afternoon? Sounded great to me. But he went dark and I never heard boo and haven’t since. So I can’t count on him right now and that makes me feel like I got punched in the stomach. Breathe, breathe and give it space. Lots of his tools are down in my garage, so at some point he’s going to want them back.

So my brother helped put my bed back together. And I had a good talk and cry about everything with him too. Ahhh…my beautiful bed, back in its frame and everything! It won’t be hard to move it when it’s time to paint on that side of the room. Yep, getting back in my bedroom trumped the carpet shampooing this time around. Oh well…I can always have a carpet cleaning service do it.

Now I am blessed with a completely empty walk-in closet! Which needs updating big time – it’s still got just one shelf and dowling for hangers in one row on three sides! Ha ha 1980! So where are all my clothes and shoes? Downstairs in the living room on a railing and piled in huge garbage bags! Oh, what a glorious mess!!

But as I like to say, there are no accidents. Sure I’ve cleaned out that closet periodically over the years, but never like this. Seeing all my clothes in a completely different setting was exactly what I needed to take a good, hard look at everything. So far I’ve filled 8 huge garbage bags and hauled them off to Goodwill! YES! Man it feels great to purge. I found stuff I’d completely forgotten about. And since I’ve lost weight I’ve been able to fit back into many things I couldn’t before! It’s like shopping in my own closet! Other stuff goes into the ‘no’ pile…stuff I’m sick of, stuff that’s out of style and stuff I haven’t worn in years. They say we wear 10% of our wardrobe 90% of the time. Do you think that’s true? I try to NOT do that but I bet I probably do too.

So I’m going to pull the trigger and have the nice people at California Closets design a better solution for me. Years ago they did a design and quote but I never got around to it…and if I remember correctly I’d planned to use part of my tax refund for it but changed my mind. Now it’s time.

Wow…how fun that my typical blogging day – Sunday – is New Years Day! What sprang from unemployment, boredom, frustration and a lifelong passion for writing is now over two years strong – this September ol’ fivenineteen here will be 3. THREE! This will likely be the most productive thing I do all day. Oh, and taking the Christmas tree down too. Thankfully it’s a 4 foot artificial tree. Easy to pull apart and pack up until next time.

I remember as a kid I didn’t really “believe” it was the New Year until I saw it in writing. Which meant seeing the new year in print on the newspaper the next morning. There still is a part of me that feels that way…although now it’s the date readout on my cell phone, my home landline phone or even the little clock on the corner of the laptop screen here. Yep, it’s Sunday January 1, 2012. Wow.

It’s only natural to reflect back on the year that Was…2011 started off with a bang. Literally. My family said goodbye way too soon to a family member – my cousin’s ex wife – at age 41. And a new relationship…intense, yes, which flamed out quickly. And, admittedly, took me awhile to process. Thanks to time and some newly-discovered wisdom shared with me by my dear friend T, it’s all so clear to me now. And so great to just Let It All Go.

My health took a nosedive in late winter/early spring last year. Enough to where any plans to hit the gym and train for the year’s 5Ks went out the window. We had Typhoid Mary run rampant in that team’s cubicle farm. I coughed for two months straight. Here’s a tall glass of water in a plastic tumbler toast to a MUCH healthier 2012…with 5Ks to boot! Hmmm, I might steer clear of the gym for a few weeks and try getting outside to exercise. Such a cliche…it’s jam packed in January – too hard to get a free treadmill!

I’m optimistic and hopeful about the economy and my job. Save for a two-week break last year between engagements, I was employed all of 2011!! WHAT a relief after the mess of late 2009 and first half of 2010. We HAVE to pull out of this drudgery that is a recession/depression/whatever it is. It sucks and I have good friends still feeling the burn.

My confidence in my Silpada jewelry business only continues to grow and grow…every conversation, every party, every question about my jewelry and what I’m doing only fuels me that I can really DO this, have fun, and make a surprisingly great commission on the side! Just by “selling” a product I’ve loved for years! (I use “selling” in quotes because it does not really feel like selling at all in the traditional sense.) Just sharing info with people! I meet up regularly with other local reps and the friendships that have grown from them are simply fabulous. Incredible women.

And what a great crescendo on the last part of 2011 when the consulting work I did for free back in 2010 popped into some extra paying work for a couple of months in late 2011! That project is on hold right now, but there is a very strong chance we’ll resume work again with the client later this year. Fascinating…and who knows where it could lead? I will be at my current full-time job through late June this year and I know it will go fast. And believe me, I know how to network. If I could stay on longer with this team through June I would leap at the opportunity. But since I do consulting engagements, that’s not part of the deal usually. Budget cycles and all mean consultants come and go. Nothing personal.

I feel truly happy and blessed…big smiles as I welcome 2012 and look outside into the sunshine. Time to get outside for a walk!